Stolen Diva
by Cup of Violet Tea
Summary: A priceless piece of art is stolen, and Shun is appointed head investigator of the case. However, he struggles to make progress due to lack of leads until a charming girl appears to his aid. The strange thing is...she's a spitting image of the subject in the stolen painting.
1. Spitting Image

**Although I made this account long ago, I've recently started writing fanfics and decided to come back. This is my debut fanfic, inspired by the MV for Minami Takahashi's debut song "Jane Doe." Bakugan is one of my favorite animes, and I'm writing for AlicexShun, one of my favorite pairings in addition to RunoxDan, who will appear somewhere in here, and others.**

**Story takes place in modern day Bayview, maybe AU, I guess. ****I don't own Bakugan or Jane Doe, but I wish. Here's the story!**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Spitting Image**

"Come on, we're done for the night."

"You want to grab a snack at that sushi bar?"

"Nah, I have to go home."

"Count me in! But the food's all on you."

"I'm going to lock the place up now."

The four security guards packed up their stuff and prepared to leave. One of the guys decided to turn on his portable radio to break the silence. "I wonder what news is reported at this time of the day."

"That late night music broadcast or something."

The owner of the radio carried it out with him as he and his coworkers came outside as well. All four of them left through the front door, and the last one out locked the entrance. "My sister's getting married in two weeks. Any of you guys know where I can get a decent suit for less?"

"You can borrow mine if you want."

"Hold on. Aren't we _all_ invited to her wedding? That means we can't share anything clothing."

"That's my point."

By the time they crossed the street, they'd forgotten all about working overtime at the museum already. The security guards were so tired that all they wanted was to eat and go to sleep. However, none of them were expecting what be was going to happen in one of the painting galleries tonight...

**-x-**

After an urgent distress call, Shun Kazami was the first arrive at the scene of the crime. "This is a mess. What happened here?"

"Shun? Is that you?" Marucho Marukura ran inside from the lobby. "It is you! I'm so glad you're on the case. As the new museum director, this is the first major event that's happened. Such bad luck!"

"Marucho, long time no see! Looks like you got promoted after the former curator retired. But tell me, was there a party here?"

Runo Misaki descended the portable metal stairs down to the two gentlemen. "Tell me about it. I wish I could say that this is a publishing party in which famous painters celebrated their finished works, but no. We just fell victim of an art theft last night...or was it early this morning? It's difficult to tell. Hey you!" She called to one of the security guards. "What time did you leave last night?"

"Eleven thirty, just as you told us, Miss Misaki." he told the head of security. "We've been on overtime for the past eight days."

"Oh right. I remember." Runo shook her head. "Dan said he was coming soon, but I guess you're here first. Is there anything you want to look at, Shun?"

Shun stepped over the debris and observed the space where the artwork was stolen. "What kind of painting was it? I see that the screw is almost at the three-meter mark. Wouldn't it be a huge painting?"

Marucho flipped through a copy of the brochure and read the credit line. "'Maria Koroleva, _Swan Song Diva_, 1993, oil on wood, 275x200cm, in the collection of Bayview Museum of Moden Arts.' I'm surprised by the fact that the thief stole the description plaque. He or she should know that the museum documented every piece of art in the galleries."

"Maybe something was written on the plaque." Runo suggested.

"Let me see the brochure." The painting featured the left profile a young woman in a white, sleeveless dress with a silver, crystal-flower hair comb in her carrot-orange hair that covered her face and shoulders. She held the vintage microphone with her delicate left hand away from her slightly-parted lips as if finished singing. "It's beautiful. I can see why someone would steal this. Still, it's not worth it."

Then he ascended the portable stairs and examined the screw. "Looks like the thief knew what he was doing. The painting was lifted off gently without hassle. What puzzles me is the mess of confetti and trash down below. Where did that come from? There's no air vent-"

"Bad news!" Jake Vallory, a police officer trainee, burst into the gallery with his radio on speaker. "Captain Dan was in a car chase accident and is hospitalized!"

"Dan's in the hospital?" Shun and Runo asked simultaneously. They looked at each other in shock, and Shun announced, "Marucho, Runo, I really need to go see Dan."

"I'll come with you." Runo replied.

"But Runo," yelled the curator. "We need you for the-"

"Please, Marucho. I really need to see if Dan's alright."

Marucho wrinkled his eyebrows and nodded. "Fine. I'll have the vice head come by to assist."

**-x-**

"My leg..."

Dan Kuso had never felt this much pain from a car chase accident before. Shun and Runo stood to his left while a nurse came over to his right. Dan's blood pressure and everything was normal, but the pain killers weren't enough, and the nurses already administered the maximum amount to him while without a doctor's regulation.

The nurse finished writing down the numbers and said, "I have some good news and some bad news."

"Good news first, please." Dan requested.

"The good news is that the person you're chasing is okay, so the police can safely take him into custody for questioning."

"And the bad news?"

"The bad news is that another car—not the one you're chasing—ran into you and caused a chain reaction accident. You won't be going anywhere with that leg." She hanged the clipboard at the end of the bed and left.

Dan lifted the sheets to see his left leg wrapped with layers of bandages. "But without me, the station won't function."

"It's okay, Dan." Runo reassured, holding his hand tightly. "I wish I could stop by everyday for lunch and maybe breakfast or dinner to talk with you, but there's an art theft at the museum, and I can't leave my post. Why don't you let Shun take over? He's well-trained."

"But Runo, I'm not-"

"Excellent idea!" Dan sat up and scooted himself in. "Shun, I'm leaving you in charge of Runo's case and the entire Bayview Police Department with help from others. Can you do that?"

"O-Of course, Dan. Anything for a friend in need..."

"Great! You can get started now."

**-x-**

Shun managed to solve three cases in one week smoothly without bothering Dan. Dan still wasn't going to be discharged anytime soon, but Shun really wished Dan was back. _Everything's easier when Dan's around. I've seen him give orders to everyone like saying hi to a friend, but this is tough._ What's worse was that the art theft case _still_ hasn't made any improvement. It's like the case and everything never happened of existed.

"Shun, you have a visitor." the desk clerk called.

Shun looked up to see Runo walk in with fresh flowers, a plastic bag of stuff, and a food container. She sat down in the chair in front of his desk. "How's everything doing, Shun? Is there anything on the art theft case?"

He shook his head. "Absolutely nothing. Even after seven days of searching and closing off that gallery, we've found nothing. Forensics didn't find any suspicious matter in the gallery anywhere. We don't even know where the thief came in from. I hope closing off the gallery isn't ruining your business."

"Not at all. Marucho called the general director at city hall, who said that we'll be given other jobs for now until this investigation is getting somewhere." Runo took out a box of oatmeal raisin cookies and asked, "Would you like to eat some?"

"No, thanks. Save them for Dan. By the way, how is he?"

"The x-rays came back and showed his femur damaged really badly. Anyway, it was nice talking to you. I need to talk to the person in charge of the car chase case Dan was in. Call me when you have any leads, please."

Before Runo left, Shun opened his desk drawer and grabbed a greeting card and file folder. "Can you give this get-well card to Dan for me? Also, this is a rough preliminary report on the car accident. This, I have some leads on, but the not the other. Jake is working on that one."

"Aw, thank you! I'm so glad Dan put you in charge." She put them away in her purse. "I'll go see Jake now."

"Actually, I should get going, too." Shun shut down all his electronics and packed away his open documents. "It's officially my afternoon tea break, and I'm going to Julie's cafe. Bye."

"See you next time."

**-x-**

"What's with the long face, Shun?" asked the silver-haired waitress.

"There's this case I've been working on since last week, and I still haven't gotten any leads. If I don't find anything, it'll be a cold case soon, Julie. What am I supposed to do?"

Julie slammed her mango smoothie on the counter. "Shun Kazami, don't you ever dare say 'cold case!' There's nothing that you can't overcome, so suck it up and keep working!"

"Calm down, will you?" Shun moved away from her screaming and moved back. "Anyway, there are two other cases I'm working on: the car chase Dan worked on last week and the hit-and-run that sent Dan into the hospital."

"My apologies. What's this other tough case about?"

"Someone made their way into the Bayview Museum of Modern Arts and stole a stole an expensive painting, and not a single clue was left behind. Isn't that suspicious?"

Julie nodded her head repeatedly. "In every single episode of crime drama I watch, the police always find something weird on the spot or later during a revisit. I trust that you'll find something now or later, but definitely not never." A customer walked in the door and rung the bell. "Hold on." Julie walked over to the customer and said, "Welcome! How may I help you?"

"Umm..." The redhead looked at the menu on the wall for a moment and replied, "One caramel mocha frappe, please."

"Great! That'll take five minute. You can pay there."

The girl looked around the room many times. The counter seats were full, but there were empty tables everywhere. That wasn't her primary concern, though. As she walked over to the cash register and eyed Julie, who was using the whipped cream machine, her eyes met up with the eyes of the raven-haired male.

After Julie went over to talk to the customer, Shun sat silently in his seat, stirring the straw in his iced tea. _Why can't I find a single lead? What am I doing wrong? This hasn't happened before._ He shook his head and took a drink. _Maybe it's because I'm handling too many cases. I've given the car chase case to Jake, and I might as well give the hit-and-run case to Joe._ He turned around to see Julie come back to the kitchen. Then he saw the unusually appealing redhead girl at the door. _Why do I feel like I've seen her before?_Shun ignored it and checked his cell phone for text messages and saw the photo he took of the Swan Song Diva painting.

"Excuse me. Are you Shun Kazami?" she asked.

"I-I-I-" He looked back and forth between the redhead and the stolen painting. "Yeah. What's your situation?"

"Thank goodness! Captain Kuso said you'd be here."

"Wait. What does this have to do with Dan?"

"Nothing. It has to do with the art theft case." She hesitated to look around and said, "I witnessed something the other day and have some evi-"

Without thinking, Shun grabbed her hand toward him, and the two stared at each other for a while. Shun tightened his grip with slight anger, but the girl didn't let go or struggle, as if she wanted him to keep holding her hand. That long orange hair, that fair skin, that delicate left hand...it was unmistakable.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked melodically, the harmonic voice of a singer.

"You're a spitting image of the subject in the stolen painting..."

* * *

**Takamina's characters in the MV are a thief and a diva, which is where the painting name (completely made up!) and stolen art came from. Shun, Dan, Jake, and Joe all work for Bayview Police Department. "Captain Kuso" may sound weird, but Dan IS the captain and HAS seniority over the department.**

**I know it's not purely original, but I know where I'm going with this. This has nothing to do with the MV; just the diva/thief personae.**

**I had three people beta read this prior, and they all said it was good, so I'm content. I'd be more content if you'd leave a review. Even if you don't, I'm perfectly fine. I just write for the fun of it, and writing fanfics based on my favorite media is really enjoyable. But please do review, anyway.**

**Again, I don't own Bakugan or Jane Doe. Thank you!**


	2. What She Said

**Reviews.**

**anon:** Thanks for the support!

**FlowersOverBoys:** Thanks for the support!

**MagicxMusicxMelody:** Oh, it's okay. I was doing this purely because of the MV. The guards aren't all that important, sorry. I won't talk about about Alice visiting Dan.

**mad eye moody****:** Thanks for appreciation! I'm sure this mystery will be more intriguing along the way.

**shadowwing1994:** Thanks for liking my debut fanfic!

**InnocentDiamond:** You too?! Awesome! It was awkward when she threw the necklace at the tower. Yes, I did, but not in Japan real time. Sorry if the visual details are bad. I wanted the problem to be as serious as possible, so I'm degrading the even toughest things.

**CherryTree:** Thanks for telling me! I think full names are more respectful. You're onto something there, but I'm not going to say much.

**Seven total reviews! Thank you so much!**

**When I left off last time with Shun grabbing Alice's hand, I didn't know how to resolve that problem, so I threw a few facts in there, hoping Shun won't be suspicious of Alice and opening up to her somehow. See how this works. Things will change soon enough.**

**Last but not least, I don't own Bakugan or Jane Doe. Anyways, please continue!**

* * *

**Chapter 2: What She**** Said**

**-x-**

"You're a spitting image of the subject in the stolen painting..." Shun said slowly. How and why this girl looked so much like the painting was unknown to him, but Shun couldn't stop staring at her. "Who are you?"

"Alice Gehabich. I flew back from Moscow about a week ago and-"

"Wait. You flew _back_ from Moscow to Bayview? You live around here?"

"I live in Wardington. I'm visiting and staying at a relative's house here for now."

_That explains some of the inconsistency. _"Alice, you said you witnessed something the other day that has to do with the recent art theft case? Why don't take a seat next to me?"

"Yeah, I do. Thank you." Shun helped Alice up onto the stool as Julie came by with Alice's frappe. "I don't exactly have evidence, but I _do_ know something about the stolen painting?"

"The fact that you look exactly like the person in the painting?"

Alice gave Shun a confusing look. "No, I don't recall. But at this." From her bag, Alice took out a brown photo album and flipped to a tabbed page. "Here. This is a picture of me when I was about three. See that watercolor painting I have? I painted it exactly like the oil painting."

"So you're saying that the oil painting belongs to you?"

"No. I was born after that was painted. For me, I only draw and paint picture after seeing a subject and don't make something out of my mind itself. That means I've seen this painting before in my past, because if not, I wouldn't have painted this watercolor by myself. Also, when I was three, I've lived with my grandparents in Moscow since until I left Russia when I was six. I think that painting belonged to my grandparents."

Shun accidentally choked on his ice tea and pounded his chest. _My first lead on this art theft case is from a girl who looks exactly like the painting, and she gives me so much information about this painting and it's supposed past. _He got of his seat and took his iced tea with him. "Sorry, Miss Gehabich, but I-"

"Just call me Alice."

"Okay, _Alice._ I have to go back to the department. Would you like to come over?"

"I'm sorry, but I have to leave, too."

"Oh. Sorry then." He opened the door to let Alice walk first. Shun continued to stare into his iced tea and wondered if this was some kind of miracle. "Alice, wait. How the the nurses-"

Alice was gone and nowhere to be seen.

Julie walked up to Shun with a phone in her hand. "Shun, you left this. Are seriously considering her witness statement?"

"Wait, what?! What witness statement? And thanks for the phone."

"_Exactly._ She didn't give you one! What were you thinking?"

All this time, Shun and Alice only discussed the evidence. _Julie's right. How __**didn't**__ I realize that?_ Displayed on his phone was the snapshot of the stolen painting. "I have no idea what just happened, but I think my mind just stopped processing for a moment."

"Whatever you do, don't give me the love-at-first-sight look. It failed."

"What?! Impossible! Julie, she's a witness on this case. I can't even-"

"Good," Julie returned to cleaning the counter. "because the only why you just _grabbed her_ should just be the fact that she looks like the painting. Good bye."

"See you next time."

**-x-x-x-x-x-**

Late at night around 9:00 pm, Shun was still at the police station working overtime. The only other person here was the janitor, so Shun sat in the desk clerk seat for a better view outside. He was finalizing a report for another case when someone knocked on the door. "Come in."

"Hi!" It was Alice. "I didn't know that station was still open, but there was a light, so I stopped by. Do you mind?"

"No. Please, sit down." Shun pulled up a chair for her in front of the clerk's desk. "What brings you over at this hour? Also, you didn't give me-"

"A witness report? That's I'm here!" She took out the photo album from earlier in the day as Shun took out a notepad and pen. "You can keep this as reference for now. On the day the painting was stolen, I was still at the airport, and at the airport, I heard someone say something."

"What was it?"

"'Tonight's the last time that sheer-faced singer will appear on stage. She'll be going to someplace else to perform after midnight. I wonder how the club managers will feel when they find out she quit.'"

Shun copied it down word for word but asked, "How is this relevant to the case?"

"Think about it. The painting is oil-based with a shine to it, a diva is a singer, a stage could mean the gallery, and club managers could mean the curator. It's a robbery spoken in code. Plus, I heard the exact same voice in the neighborhoods as my relatives took me home from the airport."

"You _d__o _have a point there." He flipped through the album to the tabbed pages. "Where do you live right now?"

"At a relative's house, remember? Here, I'll write down the address." She took a pencil and wrote down a few numbers and words. "Hearing someone say that at the airport makes me thing they're international art thieves. I'm really scared."

"There's more than one person?!"

"Uh...I think so. Some one replied, 'You know we'll eventually need another singer, right?' That, I don't understand."

Shun put his pen and notepad down. "Here's what I don't understand. If this happened a week ago, how come you didn't report this earlier?"

"They sounded like night club patrons and businessmen to me. I had no idea they were planning a robbery. Besides," Alice's voice grew weaker. "My house in Wardington was burglarized last week. I'm really scared."

"Don't worry. I'll look through this album for now. _Then_ maybe I can assist with the burglary. May I get your contact information?"

"Oh." Below the address, she wrote down her Wardington address and telephone number. "I feel a lot better already. Thank you, uh..."

"Just call me Shun. I'll call you when we need more assistance with this case, but if _you_ need anything, here's my number on the card." He handed Alice a black & white business card.

"Thank you, Shun. See you next time."

As Alice walked outside, Shun continued typing and looking through the photo album. Some pictures were purposely removed, and he thought, _Why would she give me the entire album instead of just the specific photos? And why take some photos out if you're going to give me the whole thing? _Shun immediately packed up after finishing the document. _Why do I feel so out of place today?_

**-x-x-x-x-x-**

The next day was a Sunday. Shun, Runo, and Marucho all had a day off and decided to visit Dan. While boarding the elevator, Shun decided to make a call.

"Who are you calling, Shun?" asked Runo.

"Just someone. I might as well call her over since she's a witness to the art theft case."

Marucho stared at Shun awkwardly. "You have the phone number of a witness and you're calling her leisurely? And it's a woman?"

"Yeah. So?"

"I'm just going to assume you're calling her because of Dan." Runo replied. "Off the elevator, now."

"You go ahead. I need to chat."

"Whatever." The museum employees proceeded without Shun.

After three rings, Alice answered her phone. "Hello?"

"Hi Alice. This is Shun. I'm at the hospital with two other people visiting Dan. Would you like to come over?"

"Captain Kuso? I'd love to! Shall I come now?"

"ASAP. Also," Shun cleared his throat. "How's your house in Wardington doing?"

"The police say there's no forced entry. My aunt Clara stayed there when I was Moscow, but during that week, she was away for a high school reunion. I think the burglar had his set of keys or a lockpick."

"That sounds serious. When are you going back?"

"Not anytime soon. Why do you ask?"

"Uh, no reason. I'd like to help with that case if solving it will ease your worries so we can focus on this case. Just get here soon."

"I will. Thank you!"

"You're welcome."

Minutes later, Alice arrived on the third floor and walked to Dan's patient bed. "Hi, Captain Kuso. Hi, Shun. Hi, uh..."

"Alice, this is Runo Misaki and Marucho Marukura, head of security and the curator of Bayview Museum of Modern Arts. Runo, Marucho, this is Alice Gehabich, a witness to this case."

"Hi Alice." the museum workers greeted.

"Hi, Runo. Hi, Marucho." Alice greeted back.

"Dan, how did the nurses let Alice near you last time she visited?" asked Shun.

"They didn't. It was a telephone call. This is my second time talking with her but the first time in person. Welcome!" Dan extended his right hand to shake hands with her.

Shun nodded his head. "I see. Anyway, Alice said that she heard someone 'code-talk' about a possible art theft that sounded like night club patrons and businessmen. I have what she told me on paper here."

"Not to mention, I've seen that painting somewhere back in Moscow when I was a little kid." Alice added. "Tell them about my photo album?"

"What photo album?" the rest asked in unison. Shun went on explaining was Alice told him yesterday at Julie's cafe about the watercolors, images, and so on. Then Alice talked about the burglary at her house affected the case and diverted her attention.

"For real? That is so weird." Dan gasped. "Not only that, you look like the person in the stolen painting, yet you've seen the painting before and even painted your own watercolor of it without know it looks exactly like you. I wouldn't be surprised if your family owned the painting before."

Alice looked at everyone defensively. "Why do you all think I look like that painting?"

"Because you do! Your long orange hair, fair skin, delicate left hand, and even your voice sounds like a singer. Who told you that you don't look like that painting?" Shun complimented.

Runo glared at him. "Shun, you're overdoing it with the compliments."

"Does the name 'Maria Koroleva' mean anything to you?" the curator asked.

Alice wrinkled her forehead in thought. "Nothing. No one in my family has that name, not even the maiden names. I'll tell you this, though. 'Koroleva' is a Russian last name, and coincidentally, I'm Russian."

"That should prove something, right?" Shun asked. "Thanks for coming and telling us this, Alice. We-"

"You're all here!" Jake ran inside with his radio on speaker again. "Bad news!"

"Again?!" yelled Shun, Runo, and Marucho.

"Again! That car that Captain Dan was chasing last week was stolen _again_ and spotted at Pier 320. The distress call mentioned something about extravagant paintings. Shun, we need you now! I have room for two more. Runo, Marucho, I'll give you two a ride."

"Coming!" they cheered.

"I'm coming, too. I hope this has to do with the art theft case right now." With Jake, Runo, and Marucho gone, Shun was left with Alice. "Would you like to go with me?"

"Sure. Why not?"

On their way down the hospital, Shun thought, _How could that car chase have anything to do with the art theft? Maybe it's a different art theft. Who knows?_ For some reason, Shun felt a lot better with Alice by his side since she's the first witness...yet a lot worse with her connections to the stolen painting.

* * *

**The beginning was slightly illogical with Shun calming down and Julie saying what she said. A burglarized house was the only thing suitable for Alice's situation of **staying in Bayview** and **_not reporting what she witnessed immediately_**. The next chapter probably won't be here soon since I have music practice.**

**I will go in detail with the other cases and the art theft later on. I think I actually find the part in which I have to connect everything together and magically make everything make sense really easy...once I get there, that is. x_x**

**A happy birthday shoutout to InnocentDiamond! Also, stop by FlowersOverBoys's forum Bakugan Battle Club if you have the time. There's a lot to talk about actually, but it's up to you.**

**Leave a review on the way out!**


	3. New Factors

**Reviews.**

**Guest: **I'm glad you loved it! No, Julie isn't jealous of Alice. She's just worried Alice will make Shun lose his concentration and the like. Thank you!

**RosesOfTruth: **This is only the beginning where Shun and Alice plus, so first impressions and reactions are always kind of OOC. Plus, given the situation about cases and burglaries, they ARE stressed a little, and anything good for them takes priority. I hope that didn't affect too much.

**Cherry-Tree:** "Anachronism," I found, means "anything occurring or existing out of its proper time." If her Wardington house hadn't been burgled, then Alice wouldn't be here, so it's confusing both ways (I know, I'm sorry). There's a connection right there. I can't believe I forgot about the photo album. Thanks for reminding me.

**MagicxMusicxMelody:** I totally forgot about it! thanks for reminding me. How he has her number is something I won't go into detail about. It is kind of irritating when people keep commenting, I know. Freaky, isn't it?

**InnocentDiamond:** Julie can get really peppy at times. Alice just happened to be at places. The story is supposed to be suspicious for a reason! That's why it's 'mystery'! Actually, I kind of confused myself with so many new cases, so I don't even know.

**Two-month inactivity. All because I'm in the music department of my school and we were in charge of all the (celebration) music at every event, especially end-of-the-school-year ones like graduation. Can't believe the events needed drumline for drumroll. That's stupid.**

**To make up for the absence, I have a DanxRuno story coming up in a few minutes (hopefully) because the first chapter is almost finished. I think I'm one of the few people who aren't going to another place for summer vacation yet until the MIDDLE of summer vacation because I still have some post-school extracurricular activities to attend, and they're not helping me.**

**I don't own Bakugan or Jane Doe. :)**

* * *

**Chapter 3: New Factors**

**-x-**

"What...the hell is this?!"

The only thing Shun saw at Pier 320 was a lousy drawing taped onto a broken easel standing in the lot where the supposed car was parked.

"'SOWWY, bUt Ur KIndA l8, SO bYE bYE.' For those who can't read it, it's 'Sorry, but you're kind of late, so bye bye.' I'm very interested in the note-writer. Now the car chase case and the aft theft case are related."

Runo shook her head. "I don't think so. The distress call said 'extravagant _paintings_'. That's more than one painting, and only one painting was stolen at the museum."

"It could be one general thief stealing a painting or two from all local museum." Marucho suggested.

"But we have the only museum with in a 11km radius with a museum that houses extravagant paintings." Shun objected. "Remember, the car was _stolen_ after we found it and had it towed, and we double checked for all inside contents. Only food, napkins, and music CDs were confiscated. Where could the other paintings have been hidden?"

"Maybe the driver needed that specific car." commented Alice. "Stealing another car that's close enough to the stolen model is easier in the public, but no. They sneaked into the pound and drove off."

Shun sighed as he stared at the note. "All I can say is that the car chase case and art theft case may or may not be related. What I hope is that neither one of them is related to hit-and-run that hospitalized Dan, but the car chase case looks like it kind of does, given that precise timing. Jake, you sure this wasn't a hoax?"

"The distress call was legitimate. The operators confirmed it!" Jake replied. "What could've gone wrong? We drove at slightly below the speed limit to get here. I'll stay and observe the area."

"It's not your fault, Jake. I admire your devotion and enthusiasm, but this isn't something that can be solved in one day. The rest of you should go home. Runo, take care of Dan often. Marucho, stay at the museum while Runo's gone. As for Alice..."

"No worries, Shun. Runo and I will go now. I'll call Kato to drive us home." Marucho dialed Kato and walked back to the sidewalk with Runo.

"I'm going to need a ride home, but-"

"I could offer you a ride, Alice."

She shook her head. "It's okay. I'm more interested in the note, though." Alice walked over to the easel and stared at the note. Then she took out a folded piece of paper from her bag. "Strange. The handwriting and the writing tool looks very similar to my note."

"Your note? From where?"

Alice handed her note for Shun to look. "It was pinned onto the front door of my house in Wardington when I came back. I think the burglars left it behind deliberately for me."

Shun looked up and down to compare both notes. "'WISh U WErE hOME. tOOK SUM StUff 2 rEMInd US Of U.' The burglars might actually know you, as the note implies that they haven't seen you in a long time. Or they could just be taunting you. I can't confirm anything yet, but the writing is very similar, the grammar is the same, and the capitalization issue is identical. All odd-ordinal letters are uppercase, and all even-ordinal letters are lowercase. Why didn't you show this to anyone?"

"Like today, the police thought it was a hoax. My house is more important than the note, that's why."

"Was anything stolen from your house?"

"Yes, a _lot_ of odd things. They stole all my formal dresses, hair-fixing equipment, hair accessories, and—don't laugh—my karaoke set. Odd, isn't it?"

"Not a single expensive item stolen. Definitely not your typical burglars. And they chose a day that both you and your aunt weren't at home to invade. Excuse me." Shun stepped aside to answer his phone. "Hi. This is Shun speaking. What happened? Wait, what? Since when? I didn't see it this morning and have no idea how I could've missed it. Thanks a million."

"What happened?" Alice asked.

"Just some small files and a stack of papers about related details on my desk back in the office. If you _really_ don't need a ride, then I should get going now."

"It's okay. That's more important. See you next time."

Alice compared the notes again, and watching Shun drive off didn't make Alice feel any better. Whoever's doing this to her is serious about taunting her and getting what they want.

**-x-x-x-x-x-**

The next night was one of the monthly dinners in which Shun and a couple of his friends in BPD went out for dinner. Tonight was up to Shun pick the restaurant and pay for everyone's food, so he chose for everyone to eat at an Italian restaurant by the name of Backyard Vineyard.

"Man, I always wanted to come here!" Jake cheered. "Thank you _so_ much for taking us here and paying for the food, Shun. You're the best."

"Make sure you take some food out for Dan, Shun." Joe reminded. "Runo's not going to leave the hospital tonight. I just called her."

"And Marucho's working over time. You might want to save him some, too." Ace added.

Shun approached the door but didn't open it. "Enough. I've already picked the restaurant and decided to pay for everything. Do you really expect me to take out food for Runo and Marucho as well?"

"Yes!" they answered in unison. Shun simply shook his head and went inside.

A waitress brought the four to a circular table and handed them menus. After placing their orders and watching waitress bring the food to the table Joe looked up to see a crowd of girls walking and put his menu down. "Hey. One of them looks like the witness from the other day. Wait, is that Chan?!"

"Chan Lee? As in the girl you dated in college for four years?" Ace stared at the girl in a red dress and shook his head. "She hasn't changed at all. Let's see if she still remembers you. Chan! Over here!"

The Chinese girl looked over and walked toward the guys. "Joe? Ace? Shun? Long time no see! What are you doing here?"

"Just having dinner, that's all." Joe trailed off, still uneasy talking to the girl he dated but haven't seen in a long time. The two of them stared at each other until Shun broke it off.

"Okay, lovebirds. Please get up and talk somewhere else." Ace and Jake laughed at Shun's response, and Shun happened to see the "witness" that Joe was talking about earlier. "Alice! I didn't know you were here. I would've invited you to eat with us since we're two people short today."

"Hi Shun. I'm having dinner here with some alumni colleagues." She greeted Shun's tablemates, and they greeted her back. "If you don't mind, we really need to leave and get a table. Good luck on finishing that stack of work you have, Shun."

"Bye." As Alice dragged Chan away, Shun tried to get Joe back to his senses. "Joe, snap out of it. You'll have all the time to see Chan whenever you want."

"Yeah, I guess. What exactly is your relationship with that witness? You told her about that pile of work on your office desk?"

"Say what?!" Shun choked on and spat out his tomato soup. "What makes you think that? And no, she was standing next to me at the pier when you called."

"Well, you have been meeting her a lot lately and bringing her onto various cases for assistance." Ace commented.

"That's because she's our main lead int he art theft case. Plus, her house was burgled two weeks ago, and Wardington Police could use the help."

"Right...because I don't want her interfering with your work. Have you seen the piles of papers on your desk?" Joe pointed out.

"_Yes_, I have. Will you be happy if I said that I was rude to Alice today by not giving her a ride and came directly to the office today?"

"No. You just made it worse." Ace sighed. "Just saying."

"Like I don't know what you're talking about. Eat."

"Yeah, whatever." Joe and Ace shrugged their shoulders and kept eating. Shun had never been so overwhelmed about his work and personal life before...until Alice came along.

**-x-x-x-x-x-**

Alice walked home after a tiring day. She unlocked the door, walked inside, and immediately fell down onto the sofa. "Well, isn't someone tired ?" said a female voice.

"Aunt Clara, please leave me alone. I'm tired..."

"Of course I know that. I must ask why you're so groggy today. You're never this tired, and you don't always come home this late at nine-o'clock. What did you do?"

"I met up with couple of my former high school and college classmates, and they invited me to dinner with them."

"Oh, Alice. Did you drink any alcohol? I hope not. You know that's not good for you."

"None at all, but even the carbonated drinks make you fuzzy and tired." Alice turned to the other side and didn't say another word.

"I see. Drink this coffee if you want." Another girl walked out from hallway in pajamas. "Hey, sweetie. What brings you up?"

"The sink is clogged, Clara. Can you fix it?"

"Don't tell me one of you cut your hair and dumped the scraps down the pipes." Clara left to the bath with the other girl as Alice continued sleeping. An hour later, Clara watched dramas on her TV in her room and heard Alice's phone ring. "Alice, answer your phone."

"Okay." Alice, who felt a lot better now after some sleep, flipped the cover open. "Hello?"

"Hey, it' me." a male voice replied. "I heard you were in Bayview, so I decided to call."

"Oh, hey! I was supposed to call you when I got back, but I forgot, and it's been a mess this week."

"I've been in Bayview the last couple of days, too. I would've stopped by if I had know you were here. By the way, what happened during this week for you? You don't usually miss or skip calls."

"I'm make the long story short, then. I came back from Moscow two weeks ago, found out my house was ransacked and burgled, and stumbled upon a major art theft case. Like my life could get any messier with the crime wave. You were there on the day they picked me up from the airport? The atmosphere was still fine."

"That's for certain. Even though you did nothing bad—which I _hope_ is true—don't stress or feel pressured about it. You stumbled onto an art theft, right? That makes you a witness, so as a witness, your job is to help the police catch the thieves."

"Thanks, but you're not here by my side, so I still feel lonely." Alice paused a minute, thinking of the next question. "When did you get here?"

"A week ago. Why?"

"I find it odd and coincidental that we both came to Bayview at the same time, that's all."

"Maybe it's fate. We're meant to be for each other, remember? That reminds me. I actually might be hopping in and out of Bayview due to some job issues. Good night."

"Okay, enough with your cheesiness. Good night." Alice pressed the hang-up button and plunged into her seat. She felt just a _bit_ better with her boyfriend in town.

But she couldn't get her mind off of that nice police officer who had been helping her and asking her for assistance in the recent art theft case...

* * *

**You do not want to know how I came up with the weird notes. x_x**

**Call me weird, but I actually had a difficult time deciding exactly what items were stolen because it had to be both simple and serious enough to not be a matter of money and get the police's attention respectively. The items aren't that weird (karaoke set: really?), but the choice to steal them is. ****I'm not going to talk about who her boyfriend or the other girl in the house are because they're not important _yet_.**

**Thanks for reading this chapter! Leave a review, please?**


	4. Impressing Gone Bad

**Reviews.**

**Nina: **Thanks for the support!

**MagicxMusicxMelody:** Really? I have issues with saying the word 'capital,' that's why. A robber never tells fully of what (s)he stole. Alice's boyfriend is a silent story for now.

**i WnT 2 NoE: **They're actually not important yet, but they appear in Chapter 5 or beyond.

**ChickaGirl3**: So many "woah"s you have there! Yes, Alice has a boyfriend, but I'm not revealing who he is yet until Chapter 5 or later.

**Cherry-Tree:** I like that word! "Signature"...the one thing that is unique to each person. I'll try to not use fillers, and the length of the story doesn't matter to me at all. For now, Alice lives in Bayview with her other family.

**InnocentDiamond:** I used to accents when I was younger, too. My eyes were kind of sore as well! I purposely made the art theft case as "different" as possible because that's what the whole story's about. I wouldn't get started the list if I were you, though.

**The music department teachers were nice enough to take the entire music department along with a couple graduates as chaperons to Thailand for two weeks! T****hat's why I haven't been updating anything lately. **Most of us are here just for the fun of it, while others actually take the time to study the music of Thailand.

**I don't own Bakugan, Jane Doe, or the lyrics mentioned in here.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Impressing Gone Bad**

**-x-**

"Complete...incomplete...missing cover sheet..."

"Need help with that, Shun?"

"No thanks, Joe. I got this covered."

_As if I really do got this covered._

Instead of stressing himself out with the art theft case, Shun put that file aside and worked on others. Dan's car chase case was almost complete; the department just needed to find the stolen vehicle..._again. _The hit-and-run case was ready for a close; just one more day of a trial hearing, and it'll be done.

And even if the burgled house case belonged to a totally different city, Shun couldn't resist looking into it.

He leaned back into his swivel chair and stared at the ceiling fan, wondering why he was so interested in a case that didn't belong to him. Now that he had a copy of it, the case was officially considered his.

_Wasn't my case before, but now it is...mine._

"Are you trying to impress her?!"

"Ack!"

How ever embarrassing it was for Shun to fall down into his swivel chair when almost everyone was looking at him.

"I assume that you mean 'yes.'" Joe held his hand and pulled Shun up. "Why the sudden interest?"

"Apparently, if Alice continues to worry about her burgled house, she won't be as focused on helping us with the art theft since she knows a _lot_ about it."

Joe eyed Shun disbelievingly. "Right. I can tell you kind of like her."

"That makes no sense. There's no reason why I'd like Alice. She's just a witness in the art theft case."

"Then why are you so concerned about her? In fact, when was the last time you cared so much for a girl?"

"Runo had food poisoning once, and I never left her hospital bed until Dan safely came back from busting a multi-city drug trafficking gang. Alice is still scared by the burglary at her old house, and the burglars won't stop stalking her. Plus, she's vital to the art theft case, remember?"

"Only because Runo is your best friend's fiancee that you care for her so much. There's nothing wrong with this. It proves you're human."

"Here's an analogy: teachers or to police officers as students are to witnesses. Deal with it."

So you're saying this is a forbidden love kind of this? As if."

"What the hell is wrong with you?! And you're not making any progress with _your_ cases. Get back to work!"

"Fine, take it easy. Jake, Ace, and I will work on the rest of the cases."

"Thank you."

"...and set you up with Alice somehow."

That successfully tempted Shun to throw a book at Joe.

**-x-x-x-x-x-**

Alice leaned against the doorway of the front door of her house and watched the officers carry items back into her house. Clara was also there to keep Alice's company.

"Aren't you glad that some of your stuff was returned?"

"_Some_, Aunt Clara. They only found _part_ of my karaoke set and some of my hair-fixing equipment. I'm not as worried about my dresses and hair accessories."

"At least the electronics are back. I wonder how they did it."

"Me, too." Alice's house was still as messy as the day it was found to be burgled, and she was in no mood to touch anything. "What if the burglars find out all the stuff's back here and try to steal them again?"

"That, I don't know about. If this stuff does get burgled again, than I have no choice to praise these people."

"Whatever. Once the moving is complete, we have to go back immediately. I think I left the stove on."

"But isn't your half-sister at home?"

"She hasn't been home since this morning." Once everything that was found was placed back, Alice stood upright and grabbed her bag. "That's it for now."

"Should I call someone to stay and watch your house? I know you're still upset, but-"

"Didn't you say Uncle Ben came back and won't need his housekeeper? Maybe she can come over."

"Oh, her! I'll call her right now."

While Clara went to make a call in the backyard, an officer walked up to Alice with a note in his hands. "Miss Gehabich, this is a note from the officer who instigated the search and return."

"Instigated? But isn't the Wardington Police naturally supposed to do that?"

"Not Wardington; Bayview. Just read it."

"Thanks." Alice greeted the young officer goodbye and unfolded the paper to read.

**Managed to find half of your lost property. Don't ask. Let's just say I was tired of working on other fruitless cases and then stumbled on this. I SWEAR, I did not repurchase your stuff. If you think someone's going to steal them, don't worry. There are some tracking devices in the electronics that'll last a month on that battery. Honestly, I wish the burglars came back and re-burgled the stuff, but that'd be mean and selfish. Enjoy.**

**-S.K.-**

"Shun...how considerate of him to do this for me. Ah!"

"Sweetie, what are you looking at?"

Clara gave Alice a jump scare after coming back from the backyard. "N-Nothing. It's just a note saying how the stuff came back."

"I don't recall lost and found letters being handwritten, especially with that fancy cursive. Who is it?"

"Just an officer friend of mine."

"You sure? Give me that." Clara acted very childishly and snatched the note out of her niece's hands. "Some smart and secretive officer friend you have. I don't even get to know his name."

"What makes you think it's a 'he?'"

"Because I saw you secretly smiling at the end of the letter. Whatever you do, missy, don't get too focused on this. Not all relationships start or end well."

"Whatever. I have to get going now. Do you want a ride, Aunt Clara?"

"No thanks. I'll leave you..._alone_. Uncle Ben's picking me up later."

"Whatever you say." Alice took the note back and continuous looked back at her aunt as she walked to her car. _What did Aunt Clara mean by leaving me alone? With whom? Myself? That sounds stupid._ She looked at the note again and saw a post-script. "How did I notice that?" She entered the driver's seat and read the PS.

**P.S.: Dinner w/ me at 7? Your choice.**

Alice couldn't help but let out a smirk of excitement. _Dinner? My choice, it is, then. __I hope __**he**__ wouldn't mind if I went just this one time. He might not even be in Bayview today, after all. Shun's just a friend, anyway. What's the risk?_

She looked through her call log to find Shun's number and called him.

**-x-x-x-x-x-**

"Shun, over here!"

Alice waved her hand at the black-haired boy from a two-person table in a restaurant. Shun immediately heard her voice and walked over. "Alice, what are you...wearing? I thought all your formal dresses were stolen."

"This?" Alice stood up and twirled 180 degrees one way and back. The pleated skirt of her fuchsia knee-length dress spun gracefully. "It's one of my casual dresses. I wore this on the day of my alumni dinner with Chan and company."

"You did? I didn't notice." _She certainly looks way better than I last saw her for a moment at my monthly dinner._ "So you saw my note?"

"Of course I did! I wouldn't be here if it weren't for that. You have no idea how much I want to thank you right now for helping me find half my stuff. I'm fine with my dresses and hair accessories not back, but the electronics were extremely important." Alice let out a breath and flipped through the menu. "Forget it. I'm getting."

"Same here, although it would've been if we found your miscellaneous hair accessories. Then you'd be able to wear one out tonight."

Alice smiled but shook her head. "My hair hasn't been well done since my hair equipment was all missing, so I'm not in the mood."

"Oh. What's with the dress?"

"To..._impress_." she added with a shrug.

Shun's eyes widened at the response. "Wait a minute, what?! Impress wh-"

"Don't get me wrong! You said it was my choice, so I chose to go to this restaurant in this dress. You'll see soon enough. Just place your order."

"Whatever you say." After the waiter came by to place the two's orders, Shun looked around the restaurant they were in. "What is this place?"

"Welcome to the Fukushia Utahime House, one of my few favorite Japanese cuisine restaurants here."

"Fuchsia...matches your dress really nicely. I get what 'House' mean, but 'Diva'?" _Couldn't possibly be related to the art theft case, could it? So many references..._

"You'll see soon enough. Oh look, our food's here. This place has the best yakitori and tempura."

Five minutes later at 19:30, a person grabbed a microphone and announced, "It is officially time for the music performances. Today, we'll start off with our founding mother with a slow enka song, 'If I Lived in the Sky.' Enjoy!"

Shun watched a woman in her later 30's walk up to the stage in a scarlet sakura-decal kimono and started singing. "I haven't heard enka in a long time since my mother used to sing it. You really did pick the right place to eat at."

"Thank you! This restaurant was started by that woman when she was in her mid-20's. She used to be a professional singer in pop, rock, enka, and many more, but she went on hiatus after some health issues. Thus, she started this restaurant in her free time, and it became a big hit among many people. Many people come here just for the music."

"I'd come here everyday then if I didn't have all that police work to do."

"Technically, you can't, because there's still that art theft case that's bothering you, isn't there?"

_Alice does have a point, but taking a break right now wouldn't hurt._ "Still no leads, yet there's a case or two that are related to it. I-"

Alice stood up and pushed her chair in. "Pardon me, but I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?"

"You'll see."

After the enka song was over, the announcer came back. "Thank you all! While Miss Kotone is dealing with other matters, we have someone special to perform the next song. Please welcome our lovely and memorable diva princess Alice Gehabich with a cover of 'Jane Doe.'"

"Alice is performing?! Since when?"

Alice appeared onstage with the same fuchsia dress, but she fixed her hair slightly and wore a rhinestone bracelet on one hand. The music started played, and the lights dimmed to a dark red.

**Who are you? Please answer me****.**

**The one I see before me is**** a**** Jane Doe****.**

Much to Shun's surprise, he didn't expect Alice to be much of a singer, let alone a "diva princess." _If only she had her formal dresses back, this performance would be way better._ He drank his sakurayu and continued watching.

**Your kind eyes move back and forth****,**

**Looking my way with a smile****.**

**We were filled with a passionate desire****.**

**Was the love we felt that day just an illusion?**

x

**The glass window obstructing the night**

**Reflects another you****.**

**If you have somebody else in mind****,**

**Just slip out of my embrace and leave**

x

**Do you kiss with your eyes wide open?**

**You****'****re here****,**** but I no longer know who you are****.**

**What are you looking at with your eyes wide open?**

**Lost in a dream while still in my arms****,**

**My dear Jane Doe****...**

The audience immediately burst into an applause.

"Way to go Alice! Haven't seen you in a long time."

"You're still has beautiful-sounding as you were back then."

"Kotone-san must be proud of you."

Alice bowed to the entire crowd. "Thank you all very much for continuing to support me." From the corner of her left eye, Alice saw Shun giving her a thumbs up. "Thanks." she mouthed silently, returning his praise with an a-ok sign.

_She really does have a stunning voice...just like a diva...on the stolen painting..._

But from the corner of her right eyes, Alice saw some people who weren't supposed to be here. In fact, _she_ wasn't supposed to be here.

And neither was Shun.

_Shoot._

Not wanting to say anything more, Alice bowed one last time and ran to the restroom.

Shun noticed something wrong and was going to go talk to her, but she ran away. _Something's not right. Alice wouldn't just run away, and all these connections to her and the stolen painting are confusing me._

Then a gunshot echoed in the restaurant, and his police instincts detected something terribly wrong.

_That can't be good._

* * *

**Thanks InnocentDiamond for helping me with displaying the lyrics!**

**I made Joe act so "lovey-dovey" as "payback" of what Shun did in the previous chapter. ****The note was something that I found suitable for the theme of "to impress." I would've put a winking face, but that would be really awkward for Shun to write that. I mean, cursive? That's very nice of him already. Don't ask how they got her stuff back. It just happened. Or I'll explain it later. :/ I mean, it's about them S&A had a moment together somewhere...**

**'If I Lived in the Sky' is an enka song by Misaki Iwasa. I love enka, but nowadays, most people are into pop. 'Jane Doe' is Minami Takahashi's, and the lyrics are only the opening and first verse. Alice has been a patron of this restaurant for a long time, so of course people know her! But that's not all that important.**

**The link to Alice's dress in this chapter is on my profile, as well as the links for the dress and hair piece in _Swan Song Diva_.**

**Don't forget to leave a review!**


	5. Warnings From Both Sides

**Reviews.**

**i WnT 2 NoE: **I actually won't go into detail about those people very much, but they will come back...assuming all criminals work in a team.

**luna:** Thanks for the praise!

**RosesOfTruth:** Don't worry; Alice is fine. She's just a little shocked and scared. Of course, hearing a gunshot is never alright. Yes, I'm a fan of the 48 family, and that doesn't include Nogizaka46.

**MagicxMusicxMelody:** That's exactly what I meant by 'impressing gone bad,' but they don't even say it out loud, so who cares? You must've been surprised about Alice's boyfriend, right? Well, I'm throwing a half-sister in for a huger mystery!

**Cherry-Tree:** I hate to break it, but that "phrase" you came up with won't come true! Maybe in the chapters after this. I tried to make Alice look as much as Takamina as possible while fitting in with the logic. Diva-Takamina and Thief-Takamina are both on my avatar pic.

**InnocentDiamond:** I'd say 'annoying' rather than 'stingy,' but both are cool. There was a chapter of Don't Be Long in which you wrote to throw a book at Alice, right? I found that really funny. The karaoke stuff is up to you to decide. The rest will be found sooner or later. Sushi is a little...cliche. Sorry!

**School will be back on the 19th. NOT HAPPY. The trip to Thailand was great, but now we have to come back, and the rest is self-explanatory. Music department will be more stressed this year, according to the teacher. I don't know why. Seeing Green will be put on hold since I want to focus on Stolen Diva and other stuff. Sorry!**

**We left off with Shun and Alice having dinner at Alice's favorite Japanese restaurant, and then a gunshot fired. No big deal unless somebody got hurt. The rest is a little boring since I _really_ wanted to show a negative side of this problem. So if the action isn't enough, that's what I mean. You have to consider that there's still about three cases open still, you know. :/ ****I don't Bakugan or Jane Doe.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Warnings From Both Sides**

**-x-**

Another shot was fired before Shun took out and waved his badge at everyone.

"Bayview PD! Everyone evacuate!"

All the customers in the Fukushia Utahime House screamed and ran to the closest exits. Shun was uttered confused by what was going on. Alice was just on the stage singing, but once the gunshot resounded, she ran away, followed by everyone else. Neither did Shun know or see who came in and fired shots. _Technically, I'm off duty, but I can't just stand here and do nothing._

The announcer from earlier ran up with Shun frantically. "You're police? Thank goodness! Nothing like this has never happened before."

"_Never?_" Shun held the man's arm and looked around. "Did you see where Alice went? I saw her run to the restrooms, but-"

"The restrooms?" The announcer shook his head . "There's no exit near there. She knows this place like the back of her hand, and going to the restroom is not an escape route whatsoever."

"I'm not taking any risks. Be right back." Shun let go and ran to the restrooms by the back of the restaurant. "Alice? Where are you? You really need to-"

"Shh." Alice came out the restroom, covered Shun's mouth, and went under a decoration table in the corner. "Sorry about that. I guess gagging people and stuffing them away is your job?"

"Well, I don't know why you did that. Why did you run from the stage?"

"Because of the gunshots."

"They fired _after_ you ran, though."

Alice turned away and watched the crowd run from the dining hall. She then looked back and stared at Shun with watery eyes. "Wouldn't you run away immediately if you saw or heard something suspicious?"

_I didn't actually think about that..._

"Shun, _please_. I'm scared. First my house gets burgled, then I get dragged into the art theft case, and I don't think gunshots echoing on the day I decided to make a performance on the stage of my favorite Japanese restaurant since I was a little girl isn't a coincidence."

Alice got out from under the table, but Shun held grabbed her wrist. "Alice, wait! If you feel like you're being threatened, I can always-"

"Alice! There you are!" The announcer ran over and called out to the redhead. "You need to get out. As for this police officer, you might want to check out what's going on in the dining hall."

"Will do. Thanks." Shun let go of Alice's hand and crawled out from the table. "Stay here and don't move."

With the announcer leading, Shun ran carefully past the rushing civilians to the dining hall, where five men stood in the center back-to-back pointing guns everyone. One of them wore a silver, black-banded fedora and a white tuxedo while the other four were all in black.

"Okay, who's in charge here?!" The white-suited man walked around the entire hall while the other four stayed back-to-back. A few waitress stood against the walls will hands in the air. He waved his gun around and fixed his fedora with the muzzle, allowing Shun to slightly see his eyes. "Where's the woman?!"

"Hands up." Shun took out his police-issued handgun instinctively and aimed it at the fedora man. "I suppose-"

Shun was interrupted by one of the men in black shooting in Shun's direction. "It's the police! We should get out of here now!"

"This way's open." whispered another man in black. "That woman's not here. Let's just get out."

The white-suited man scoffed and threw his gun on the floor but picked it up. "She was _just_ here!" he yelled with a vengeance. "But who cares? We'll come back another time. Luckily, no one got hurt." He threw a smoke bomb on the ground and escorted the four other guys and himself out of the restaurant.

Once the smoke cleared, Shun stood up from ducking and looked around. "Those were definitely not your everyday criminals. I didn't get to see their faces, and their voices were muffled. Sir, are you okay?"

The announcer stood up and coughed. "Very fine aside from the smoke. I might as well tell everyone that it's safe now."

"Good idea, but I'm going to call ballistics and have them find the rounds fired, so don't get to excited." After Shun called Bayview Police Department and requested assistance, he went back to the back of the restaurant. "Alice, are you-"

She was gone.

And that made him feel _very_ uneasy.

_Something doesn't make sense..._

Shun ignored the feeling and searched for where the three bullets could've landed, but thinking about what Alice and the white-suited man each said distracted him. _Alice ran away before the first gunshot fired, and I don't think it was instincts that kicked in. Then the shooters said they were looking for a woman. Are these guys after Alice?_ He found one of the bullets and sighed in relief. _Or they could be after Miss Kotone._

He put the bullet in a plastic sleeve and waited for ballistics to come.

**-x-x-x-x-x-**

Joe rushed over to Shun's desk with a folder in his hands. "Results came back from ballistics."

"What did they find?"

"Your super common Glock pistol. It's so common that most people who are registered to own guns have at least this in their inventory, and I didn't include police-issued handguns yet." He pulled a swivel chair over and slouched down. "You're working overtime, aren't you?"

"Exactly. You'll have to go without me."

"Shun, who works overtime after eating dinner?" Shun looked up blankly at Joe, who realized he said sometime wrong. "Right. This bullet was fired while you were out for dinner with Alice. So did you ask her out or did she ask you?"

Shun continued to look at Joe blankly but suddenly exclaimed, "Can you get out of here, please?!" He snatched the ballistics report and put it away.

"Geez. Sorry if I made you feel bad, but things like this often happen. I know how it feels when you're have a good time with someone and then it all gets ruined by some _people_. Exactly what happened to Chan and I the other day at-"

"Joe, this wasn't just some nice dinner getting crashed." Shun waved the ballistics report in front of Joe's face. "This was going to be a kidnapping or even a murder if I wasn't here."

Joe got up from his seat and pushed the chair away. "Whatever you say. Just find the culprit, and everything will be fine. I need to go home."

"See you tomorrow." Shun greeted Joe goodbye and when back to the pile of documents on his desk. _I wonder who those people are. Even though they didn't say who they were looking for, the probability tells me it's Alice._

Then he saw the photo album sitting on his desk and collecting dust. "Can't believe I forgot about that." He blew the dust off and flipped through a couple pages. Most of the photos were old and faded, but there was one that caught his attention very much. "This is the photo that Alice swears by claiming she's seen Swan Song Divabefore..."

He picked up his phone and called Alice. "Hey Alice. Can I-"

"Shun, can we _not_ contact each other for a while?"

Shun didn't expect Alice to say that and was taken aback. "Um, sure, but what's that supposed to mean?"

Alice clicked her tongue worriedly. "It's not that I don't want to; you're a great friend. I'm scared that some people might come after me because I'm talking to the police."

"Oh, _that_. Alice, trust me. I won't-"

"I got to go." Alice hung up, and the phone droned on in Shun's ear.

"That's true..." he realized. "She must be scared to death after the incident during dinner."

With the document on his desk complete, Shun went back to looking through the photo album. _Something's not right about this. There has to be something else other than this picture of toddler Alice sketching what looks like the Swan Song Diva painting in her sketchbook._

He skipped a couple of pages and stopped when he saw another photo of a girl and a drawing. The girl in the photo was cut off with only her dark, straight hair hair and bangs visible, as if from the result of child not standing still for a photo. No way could that have been Alice. In the background was another sketch, but it looked nothing like Swan Song Diva.

"Now what the hell is this?"

**-x-x-x-x-x-**

"Is it just me, or are these skid marks darker than your hair?"

The next day, an urgent distress call came in early in the morning, and Shun, Jake, and Ace went to investigate the crime scene by Pier 490, a little far from Pier 320 where Shun last went to. Ace knelt down and observed the tire tracks with a magnifying glass with the evidence team. Shun walked over and literally compared the color of his hair to the tire tracks.

"And I thought skid marks couldn't get darker than that. I'm thinking 150 kilometers per hour. You?"

"175 kph or more. I can image the tires as flat and pattern-less as a chunk of rubber. Look there." Ace pointed to an empty space that broke the consecutive chain of wooden rails. "The fencing broke off there, a meter-ish from the outside tire tracks. So how did it break?"

"Something huge attached onto the vehicle?" Shun measured the distance between the sets of tire tracks to the best of his ability with a tape ruler. "What a curve. The best I have is a meter and a half. That's like a typical family car, right? Not even a commercial truck could hit that."

"Unless it carried some large items on board. You don't think this car was carrying something huge on it, do you? That'd be very 'attractive' to people passing by." Ace shook and rubbed his head in stress.

"Not much to do here. What did the witnesses say?"

Jake walked by with a notepad in his hands. "People say it was a silver chrome car, about this size." He pointed to the sketch he drew. "The trunk was propped open with junk stuffed inside so badly that stuff flew everywhere. That's the closest description I got. People were kind of shocked when they here the screeching of the tires and the breaking of the railing."

"Thanks. That _actually _matches that car from the car chase case." Shun paced around the pier and observed everything, from the railing to the skid marks and the witness reports. "Looks like we're dealing with extreme professionals. The car got confiscated, locked away in the pound, stolen again, spotted again, drove off again, and spotted again another time! Oh, license plates. Somebody go and check those."

"Before that, I have something to ask you something. Jake, you do it."

"Yes, sir!"

Ace walked closer and muttered, "Are you really fancying that redhead?"

"Excuse me?! 'Fancying'? Your vocabulary is _horrible_."

"Hey, I'm just saying what Joe said."

"Right. Joe again." _Why can't people leave my personal life alone? If Dan was here, then this would be hell for me._ "What do you want?"

"I'm just saying you should be careful. Remember that witness who testified for the triple kidnapping last month? She was having an affair with an officer and got suspended. You don't want Alice suspended from the art theft case, do you?"

"Of course not, but does it look like there's anything between Alice and me? _No._"

"What about last night's dinner?"

"She wanted to thank me for helping her with another case." he lied. "Get away from me!"

"Whatever. _If_ she gets suspended for anything, I will kill you."

"As if." _Now I'm saying what Joe was saying._ Ace walked away, and Shun went back to examining the skid marks. After a hectic dinner the night before, he couldn't bear thinking about Alice anymore.

_But I still should heed Ace's warning, though..._

* * *

**Not exactly how I wanted the gunshots to end. Even if you don't know who those five people are—yes, I had to make the "leader" stand out of everyone—at least you know their motive. I'll let you decide whether they're after Alice or Miss Kotone. Who knows? ****Ballistics department examines firearms. Wikipedia says that a Glock pistol is very common, and a few episodes of CSI confirmed the police-issued weapons for me.**

**Kudos to MagicxMusicxMelody for reminding me about the photo album. There's your surprise twist in the middle. Anyone want to guess that that other photo stands for? :D**

**Sorry if examining the skid marks were a little boring, but now you know another person/people's motive(s)! I know, the "again"s were tedious. Joe may support Shun trying to go after Alice, but Ace doesn't. Yes, suspensions do happen. Shun must be scared to death now, but he'll get over it eventually.**

**Don't forget to review! Please and thanks!**


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